A federal judge has shot down a motion by Bethesda Softworks to stop Interplay from selling three PC Fallout titles it published. The decision also means Interplay's work on the Fallout MMO continues, though the lawsuit against them still lives.

Here's the score: Bethesda sued Interplay, claiming the Fallout Trilogy bundle it was selling and marketing through digital distribution services was "confusingly similar" to Bethesda's Fallout 3 products going out this year. Bethesda also wants to terminate Interplay's contract to develop the Fallout MMO, a deal signed when Bethesda bought the rights in 2007 - for $5.75 million - from Interplay, the series' original publisher.

But U.S. District Court Judge Deborah K. Chasanow rejected Bethesda's request for an injunction, without giving any reasons, in a ruling first found by Fallout fan Web site Duck and Cover, and reported today by Gamasutra.